RSS Feed for This PostCurrent Article

The Illinois Combine II: The DNC Moves Into Chicago

By Pat Racimora on June 16, 2008 at 7:50 PM in Barack Obama, Chicago politics, DNC, Obama, Tony Rezko

How many ways has the DNC made it clear that Hillary Clinton aand her supporters are a distraction to a preordained coronation of Barack Obama? Here is yet another, even though the convention is 2 months away and no delegate has voted for the Democratic nominee. Move a hunk of the DNC to Chicago now, and rub it into 18 millions voters’ noses.

The larger question is why would anyone want to combine Obama and the DNC in a geographical area that is known for its corrupt politicians that mock everything we value in a democratic society? Did they think that the connection between Chicago and Obama’s looming background issues would go unnoticed?

The first “Combine” is an ugly story. The characters are men who make ill-gained treasures off teachers, hospitals, people already living in poverty, and whoever else they could fleece. John Kass’s interview with former Senator Peter Fitzgerald (who was driven out by political bosses after he attempted to clean up corruption) describes the Combine succinctly: “In the final analysis, The Combine’s allegiance is not to a party, but to their pocketbooks. They’re about making money off the taxpayers.” Fitzgerald continued, “I was trying to point out, to the media and to the public, what these guys were doing behind the scenes was bad. Sometimes I felt like Cassandra—destined to prophesy the truth and not be believed.” Kass concludes, “We are where we are, in The Combine state, and if you raise your head too high, The Combine will come along and chop you down.”

It wasn’t until the trial of Tony Rezko–Barack Obama’s fundraiser, house purchasing collaborator, and long-time friend–that the colorful players in the twisted, snarled, greedy world of Chicago corruption spilled out for all to see, including the now-convicted Rezko himself. See Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass’s column, “In Combine, cash is king, corruption is bipartisan.”

So now the next “combine”—a combination of Chicago and the DNC—rumbles into town to be taken over by the Obama campaign. Let’s watch to see what happens when the DNC as we all knew it is transformed. Will the pieces ever come together again in a way that instills pride in ALL Democrats?